The regional transport commissioner has been directed by Bombay High Court to be present in the court to explain the transport department’s failure to check alleged fake motor driving licences.

The regional transport commissioner has been directed by Bombay High Court to be present in the court to explain the transport department’s failure to check alleged fake motor driving licences.

A division bench of Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice RV More asked the Regional Transport Commissioner to be present following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Prashant Sane, Maharashtra vice-president of MNS, transport wing.

The court observed that the solution to deal with the issue of fake licences was to have more manpower, and to change scrutiny mechanism.

Sane had filed a PIL early this month alleging that officials of Regional Transport Office issue motor driving licences to individuals without verifying the genuineness of the documents, put up before them for approval.

The PIL seeks action against such RTOs.

There are 45 RTOs in the state and all of them have no way of verifying the documents, states the petition.

Sane’s advocate, A. Mirza, said they have found that around 200 licences issued by the RTO were fake.

Mirza argued that the electricity bills of different persons were attached for acquiring licences.

Electricity bill is one of the documents which is used to show identity proof.

One of the incident where different persons/ organisation’s bill was used to acquire licence was of a Kandivli resident.

An electricity bill of a Kandivali-based hospital was used by Raj Kumar Sahu to get a commercial vehicle licence.

The transport wing of the MNS sent a letter to the hospital, they received a reply that no one by the name of Sahu worked at the hospital.

Seeking immediate action issuance of such licences based on fake documents, the PIL apprehends that it may be misused by anti-social ele-ments.